4 ways agencies can strike up a better relationship with clients

When possible we've looked to share general themes that should apply regardless of agency size or positioning. They will offer a guide on how you can expect the industry to take shape through 2021.

1. Be agile and specialised

Adrienne Ingoldt, senior vice president, chief brand and experience officer at Jack in the Box, the quick-service restaurant (QSR), believes that the very best agencies have to be quick on their feet, regardless of size. She is not looking for generalists.

“The space has changed so much, I can remember when I was in a big agency environment, we were a behemoth. [Today] you don’t need to be everything. Clients are getting much better at finding the right folks for the right things. Double down on the stuff that you're good at.”

Dave LaFond, co-chief executive officer and co-founder of No Fixed Address, also talked up the power of “playing to your strengths” and “never faking”.

His agency operates a 'fit, fun, future' model – relationships generally have to tick those boxes. “You can't fake your energy and passion and a pitch… I have my own agency now, and I can’t hide in it like in a big agency. My name’s on the door.”

2. Be open about agency-client realities

Donna Sharp, managing director of Medialink, pleads for honesty between clients and agencies, since both are navigating periods of accelerated change.

“Have a truly open dialogue about the changing needs of the business. Reflect on how your agency is transforming and find where it is a really strong match for what clients need," she says. “There's so much more accountability on both sides, there are literally contracts where agencies are accountable for outcomes.”

Half of her work goes to agency therapy, a mission to ensure both agency and client get the most out of their relationships. Some of these relationships have lasted the test of time, but just need a jolt to get them back on course.

“There is a need for true business partnerships, a need for transformation and need for new capabilities on both sides.”

3. Shun the pitch?

No Fixed Address’s LaFond acknowledged that we are all too busy for the pitch, especially remotely, where coordinating a presentation over Zoom can be a resource drain.

He indicated there is a growing appetite to avoid the pitch altogether, be that the remote or in-person variety.

Pre-Covid, he’d talked to clients who held pitches that took months. It was repetitive and taxing. The client fell out of love with the process, during it. “The days of the big beauty pageants are gone – you need speed.”

For him, clients have a more formed idea of their needs today. If they want X, sometimes the conversation is about shaping the idea and perhaps guiding the client towards “X,Y and Z”.

“20 years ago, we’d have our heads in our hands guessing what the client wants. It was a waste of everybody's time, we’d lose money and focus on our existing clients.”

So how should it work now? “Someone will call you after they’ve pre-qualified you. You’ll have chemistry check and get the project. We’re seeing a lot more of this.”

4. No two clients are the same

Tammy Dunkley, senior brand creative manager at Sheetz, one of the biggest convenience stores in the US, is hesitant to offer any all-encompassing tips because, as she pointed out, most clients have different problems that they need to solve.

“You can't treat every client the same. It should be more about the client and what they need, rather than who the agency and you are. You need to tailor your approach to understand the client.”

She believes in an open-door policy and working close to agency partners – especially with the accelerated production of content occurring.

“Our campaign development timeline now is so much shorter. There's so much more content that's being developed in conversation with the customer.”

She set up workshops to work through projects together with her agency partners.

“We got an opportunity to see how the agency thinks and how they arrive at their creative solution. What its strategy was, how it uses consumer insights to solve the problem.”

The approach isn’t for everyone. It requires an honest conversation and a high degree of transparency. And it all harkens back to that very first meeting. “We had to get rid of that pretence that exists between an agency and a client during a pitch and get something more authentic”.

Caireen Wacket, chief executive of Portas outlined that Covid-19 has “reduced” the role of the pitch. “Every single opportunity that came in front of over the last six months, we handled completely different each time. It’s about really drilling down into what is the right approach to tackle the client’s challenge."

If you've read this far, it's fair to say you're keen to learn about how to be a better agency. In that spirit, we direct you to watch our array of Agencies4Growth panels on the subject - or read our round-ups here.